Tyler's thorough blog on Nepal doesn't leave much for me to comment on. He's nicely prolific about his blogs, so I usually don't feel the need to add anything further. But it's hard not to have some extra need to express the feelings one has from experiencing Nepal.
I have never been on a hike for that many days before, and of all the backpacking I've done, this was one of the hardest. Even though I didn't have to carry a tent, cooking gear, nor food, and even though I slept in a bed every night, had my meals cooked for me, and didn't have to fetch or pump water, I went to bed around 8pm every night totally knackered. If you read Tyler's blog, you already know about the condition of my beat up feet. I think it had to do with the total consecutive number of days hiking, all the elevation changes, and the very rocky trail which means not much padding for the impact. But looking back it was well worth it - totally rewarding.
Each village along the circuit had its own flavor; some had better flavors than others to swallow (or smell). The higher in elevation we went, the less crap we saw on the ground, and I mean crap literally. Most villages had cobbled streets, and the narrow streets, stone walls, stone houses, and mewing animals reminded me of being in an old medieval village with mud and shit and hay and goats and yaks and donkeys, horses, naked children playing, women out at the communal water tap washing their laundry, dishes, or occasionally themselves. The harvested corn hung under the roofs' awnings, and various kinds of beans just taken out of their pods were spread out on the ground to dry for the winter. There were many apple orchards in those mountains, and they happened to be in season while we were there. The apples were so good, crispy, tartly sweet and juicy, freshly picked and so cheap since we bought them straight from the growers. Then there's the fresh apple pies, apple crumble, apple streudel, apple fritter, apple momo's. Momo is the Tibetan name for dumpling, and it's on every menu in Nepal. You can get them stuffed with veggies, meat, or in this case, apples with sugar and cinnamon. And you can get them steamed or fried. Apple momo's are best eaten fried of course. Yummy!
The local "beer" was home made, so it was different from lodge to lodge. Chyang, the local "beer", is made from fermenting millet and drank cold, which is probably the only reason why it's called beer because it tastes nothing like beer as we know it. The fermented liquid has a slight sour taste and is mixed with some flour right before it's served, so it has an almost yoghurty taste and texture. It's not carbonated at all, and it has a greyish color. Beer it is not, but I started to develop a taste for it. And I definitely preferred it over raksi, the local "wine". Raksi is basically stronger chyang that's distilled. And it's drank mixed with lukewarm water. I'm guessing since it's drank at room temperature, thus the name "wine".
On our last day of the trek, we had to hike down to the village of Beni to catch a bus back to the town of Pokhara. Access into the mountains keeps getting easier and easier as the road into the mountains keeps getting expanded. Instead of hiking all the way to Beni, which takes 8 hours, we walked only 3-4 hours to a small village where we fought off the pilgrims and bribed the driver for a seat in the jeep out of the mountains. It was quite amusing to sit in the front with the driver while Tyler clung on on the roof as the jeep tumbled and bumped along, beeping for the pack donkeys to get out of the way, but the jeep still lost a side view mirror on a donkey's pack. The donkey trains were the bane of our trekking existence. We were often stuck in between passing pack trains, and while trying to pass these donkey trains, we had to step off the narrow trail and hope the unpredictable donkey doesn't suddenly push you off the trail just bordering a steep cliff. Donkeys, just like dogs, can be trained and domesticated, but they do still retain their own personalities. And some of them really can be very ornery, refusing the train herders' commands and rocks thrown at them to keep them moving over the suspension bridge.
Ideas of interior decorations are of a different vein there. On the outside, the jeep looked just like a beat up jeep, but on the inside, it was like a colorful shrine. The front windshield was fringed with bright orange doily-like fabric and fake purple and white flowers interwoven into the orange doily. Colorful beaded strings hung from the rear view mirrow, which is only used to hang decorations since there's no way the driver cuold see anything out the back of the people-loaded jeep. All the colorful decorations matched perfectly with the driver's long fake fingernails painted a metallic ice blue, but just on his left hand. The rest of the driver's appearance seemed like a normal male's, so I'm not sure how quite to interpret his left hand and its seeming abnormality, especially since the left hand is the 'bad' hand since you don't eat with it, shake hands with it, or hand over items with it as it's reserved for wiping your bottom after using the toilet.
There are still other things/customs that baffle me. But I wonder if I asked people at home why they do the things they do, would they themselves know why. As a foreigner I'm trying to analyze and understand people and their behaviors of another culture, but in the end I think many people just end up doing what they do just because they feel like it and makes sense within what they're used to. Everybody's different, even if they are of the same culture, caste, or country. And there's no easy explanation. To better understand the nuances of a culture, I must spend much more time in a place. Right now I'm barely gleaming over the surfaces.
Nepal, the kingdom of natural resources and natural beauty. The world's tallest mountain(s), high desert plateaus, majestic water falls and white water rivers, dense jungles and remote villages. Nepal has it all. Nepal is a land of vistas both geological and spiritual. It is the place where Guatama Buddha spent his adolescence-when he was called by the name Siddhartha...where more than one tributary to the Hindu holy river the Ganges get a start...and where many Tibetan Buddhists live in exile. You can walk through amazing valleys where the mountain peaks loom miles above your head-a natural cathedral, synagoge, temple, mosque all in one. A place where you might stumble upon a Buddhist monk (88) who has lived in a cave for the last 37 years*.
Of course Nepal is not unspoiled and has recently been very much in the news. Political unrest is prevalent, and the US State Department has another one of those nasty travel advisories for Nepal urging all Americans to avoid travel to Nepal^. Interesting side note: The Lonely Planet (ie. the backpacker's bible) website has a travel advisories page, and the USA is on there. If you read it you would wonder why anyone would want to visit the USA. Anyhow a little Nepal background for those of you who were unaware. Nepal opened its doors to the world in 1951. Until the 1960s the only interest in Nepal came from mountain climbing expeditions. Then the hippies found Kathmandu and in the late 60's early 70's they flocked to Nepal in search of Shangri-La. It wasn't until the late 70's that Nepal began to develop tourism and especially trekking in the Himalaya's. Now Nepal is one of the premiere destinations in the world for mountain climbing and trekking.
In case you didn't know it-and judging by the media coverage you didn't**-Nepal is a kingdom where the king actually wields a lot of political power. In 2000 the Nepalese royal family suffered through a very tragic event. The king, the queen, and other members of the royal family along with royal guards were murdered in the palace by the crown prince. The official story is that the crown prince learned that he would lose his heir to the throne-he had intentions of marrying of his own accord-and in a drunken rage killed his father, mother, and family before turning the gun on himself. The prince's uncle, the king's brother, just happened to excuse himself from the room moments before the fatal attack and has since become king.
Of course these events are like a real life Shakespearean tragedy and like Hamlet there are rumors of foul play. The popular word on the streets of Kathmandu tell a different account of the events. The story goes that the current king found out that the royal family actually had plans to disown his son, the crown prince's cousin. It seems the new crown prince has some connections to notorious criminals and is no stranger to violence himself. The story goes that the current king and his son arranged the murder of their brother and uncle (the king) in order to assume power and avoid the shame of being booted from the family and palace. That is why the king and prince were not in the room on that fateful day. Well, no one really knows what happened that day and I am sure that some American conspiracy theorists could tie George Bush (jr and sr) to the murders-except that Nepal has yet to discover petroleum amongst its many natural resources.
As if that was not bad enough, the new king proceeded to use his political power to dissolve parliament. Of course this action upset the Nepalese political parties and many of the young Nepalese-who were not already political dissidents (see Maoists) and caused them to come together to protest the king and the politics of Nepal. There were protests and strikes that brought the country to a standstill and is partially the reason for the travel advisory. Although the demonstrations are generally non-violent, they are very inconvenient for travelors in Nepal. The big problem and the real reason for the advisory is the Maoist insurgency. The Maoists have been fighting the government since 1996 (over 9000 people have been killed). The Maoists also call strikes-although they tend to be a little more violent, recently bus drivers who failed to observe a strike had their fingers cut off!!! The Maoists resort to terrorism-people disappear to be 're-educated' or are killed altogether (the mayor of Pokhara was shot and killed earlier this year). The Maoists are not opposed to harrassing tourists asking for 'contributions' (actually it is extortion, but that is such a dirty word) and detaining tourists until they give up some money for the cause. Americans happen to be a favorite target for the Maoists because that bastion for democracy the Bush Administration, in one of many contradictions, actually supports the royal family and not democracy in Nepal (vote for John Kerry). Needless to say the political climate in Nepal is deteriorating and is unlikely to get better any time soon. On the other hand, all these advisories has really cut back on the number of people visiting Nepal which made it a little nicer (IMHO). If you are interested just google Nepal Maoists for more information.
We arrived in Kathmandu on 23Sep04. Kathmandu is a frantic city-compared with the rest of Nepal. We found our way to the city from the airport and found ourselves in the tourist area known as Thamal (hey, "freak street" sounded a little too much like Smelegraph Ave in Berkeley). Thamal is great for tourists it is like a western city with bars nightclubs email cafes etc. but it is also conveniently located to check out the temples and lifestyles of Kathmandu. After only a few days-and just before a scheduled strike-we decided we had enough of Kathmandu and left the city for the relative serenity of Pokhara. Pokhara is a beautiful rural city-there are still rice paddies and pastures interspersed throughout the town-located on the banks of Nepal's second largest lake. The city is also the gateway to the Annapurna Himalayan range and offers stupendous views from lakeside. We spent a few days in Pokhara gearing up (Tyler bought sunglasses, Amy bought a jacket and fleece) for a trek around the Annapurna Circuit.
The Annapurna circuit is perhaps the world's best trekking circuit. The track takes trekkers through lush jungle valleys where terraced rice paddies rise up the valley walls. Past fields of Nepalese Ganja-low grade marijuana that is cultivated and processed into the more world renowned Nepalese hash-that grows wild in the canyons. Up higher in altitude you pass through groves of apple trees, through remote Nepalese and traditionally Tibetan villages, over the world's highest trekking pass (Thorung La at 5416m or >17500 feet) onto the Tibetan Plateau region of Mustang where you begin your descent back through jungles and villages in the world's deepest gorge. All along the track there are amazing views of the Annapurna range including: Annapurna I (8091m) II, III, IV, and Annapurna South. Nilgiri North Central and South, Dhauligiri (8091m), the Chulu's and many other peaks. There are waterfalls and hot springs. Best of all there are villages along the whole route(s) that offer accomodation along the way-warm bed, hot shower, cold beer, and Dal Baht-making life enjoyable for trekkers (no tents and stoves and gear etc.). You can even hire porters and a guide or you can go independent. All these factors make the Annapurna circit a great trekking opportunity.
Amy and I made our way to the sane^^ starting point of the Annapurna circit, Besisahar, on 29Sep04. It took us 19 days of serious hiking to get back to Pokhara and complete the ~175 mile circit. The trip was as advertised. I won't relate every detail of our experience-it would be impossible even with great pictures (ours are so-so, see the photo gallery)-but just some of the more significant details of our trip.
On the bus to Besisahar we met a really cool French-Canadian couple from Quebec. Jennifer and Marc are about our age and are currently traveling SEAsia and Nepal for 6 months-they are really into outdoor activities especially rock climbing. We spent the first 7 days of the trek hiking with Jen and Marc spending the evenings eating and drinking and talking (Marc is a hockey man-of course!). We had a really good time with these two on the trail and back in Pokhara and Kathmandu. We intend to meet up with them in Thailand for the holidays.
The first 6 days were rather uneventful and rather pleasant('cept for that damn rain!). On the 7th day we hiked 6.5 hours from Pisang to Manang via the upper route. The hike involved a pretty intense (1000 m) ascent and equally difficult descent into the Manang valley and we were wiped out at the end of the day. Amy's feet were wasted-her in-step was tweaked and it hurt to walk (not good considering we were on a 175 mile hike!). Manang at 3500m is the place where most trekkers spend an acclimitization/rest day before continuing on with the hike. Considering the state of Amy's feet, this could not have come at a better time. Amy decided to stay off her feet and rest on our acclimitization day-I decided to take the opportunity to do a day hike without my pack on.
Ice lake was my destination. A typical alpine lake, Ice Lake is a great acclimitization day hike as it is located 1100m above Manang (4600m). The trail from Manang to the lake is broken at best and has few signs or rock cairns to guide you. I spent 2.5 hours climbing, always thinking that the lake would be just over the next ridge. Exhausted and hungry I stopped to take a rest at 4300m (according to my altimeter), I could see the final ascent to the lake-just 45 minutes walk away. I took the time to assess my situation. I was tired but not spent, I as hungry but only had some peanuts (poor planning on my behalf) and I had less than a half liter of water left. I made the difficult decision to turn back when I considered all this and the fact that I was alone, utterly alone-I had only seen yaks and birds. I was disappointed at failing to see the lake. I got over my disappointment quickly, afterall it is just another alpine lake and I have seen hundreds of them in the Sierra Nevadas. I stumbled across some grazing yaks and decided to snap a picture of the yaks with Annapurna II in the background (I didn't keep the picture). I resumed my hike back to Manang looking forward to keeping a lunch date with Amy. When I reached the prayer wheels at the city gate I realised I had left my sunglasses somewhere on the trail. D'oh! By the time I found Amy, she was in the process of buying walking sticks to help with her sore feet and trying to hire a porter to carry her bag over the pass, I was completely dejected about the failed climb to Ice Lake combined with the lost glasses. I took a shower and we went to lunch. Amy and I discussed our prospects, it was looking grim. Amy's feet were still hurting-a combination of the killer hike the day before and trekking shoes that did not provide the support she needed for her tendor feet. All the porters were quoting a price that would leave us little money for mishaps (ie. meeting Maoists). Things looked bleak. We decided to spend an extra day in Manang looking for a porter and letting Amy rest her feet. Amy tried to cheer me up but my mind was on my failed hike to Ice Lake and the blasted sunglasses. I made up my mind, I was going bak to find the sunglasses.
It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I was pretty sure I set the glasses down to take the picture of the Yaks but I wasn't sure if I could even find that spot on the broken trail. Now I know it seems silly for me to go looking for a pair of sunglasses that cost me <$4 and were easily replaceable (indeed I bought another pair back in Pokhara) but I just felt our whole trek hinged on my successful sunglass rescue attempt. So I set off.
By now it was midafternoon and the sun was in full effect as I climbed my weary sh!t arse on up the mountain. I climbed so slowly, so slowly*^...in my mind I kept thinking I could salvage the trek if only I could find the sunglasses. As I climbed I became delirious with fatigue and it seemed certain that the glasses were lost to the yaks. But at 3950m when all seemed lost I stumbled on to the spot where the yaks had been. I scrambled over to the spot where I took the photo and sure enough my sunglasses sat there undisturbed. I took out my cloth and cleaned the sunglasses, sat down, put them on and for the first time on that second dayhike-took in the majestic views of Annapurna II, III, IV and Gangapurna. It was awesome. I knew the distance to the sun, I traveled to the edge of the universe and back again in a second. The trek was saved, I just had to climb my arse back down to Manang and get back on trail.
After another rest day-Marc and Jen continued on the trail without us-we hired a porter to carry Amy's pack (along with everything of significant weight from my bag that I could stuff into Amy's pack). Hemmy aka "Bonso" turned out to be a great porter. First, he agreed to do the job for 1000 ruppes less than anyone else. Second he was like a mule (not an ass) in a good way...he was strong. Third Hemmy was knowledgeable with good english-better than most guides I talked to. It is a 2 day hike to Thorong Phedi the last camp before Thorung La Pass. At 4550m, Thorong Phedi was easily the highest place above sea level I have ever been. Amy's feet were much better-two days rest and not having to carry her pack worked wonders for her feet-but I was a mess. I was showing all the classic signs of altitude sickness. Headache and nausea, loss of appetite and shallow irregular breathing. Again, the trek looked lost. If I did not stablize we would have to descend to lower altitude and forget the pass. I forced myself to eat and sleep. The next morning I woke up without a headache and we made an attempt at the pass. It took us 3.5 hours to reach the top. The views from Thorung La Pass are breathtaking (maybe it has something to do with the 25% less oxygen in the atmosphere?). It was a moonscape with the glaciated Annapurna mountains rising up another 3700m above into the bright sun. We took only one digital photo (with Hemmy at the sign post) but I took so many mental pictures. Every time I stopped to catch my breath-about every 10 paces-I looked at the wonder around me. Our camera could not capture the moment-no camera could-it is just one of those experiences you have to be there to comprehend. Anyway, after 5 minutes at the top I had a pounding headache and began the descent. It is a grueling 1600m descent to the holy Hindu city of Muktinath (1 of the 7 corners of the Hindu world and a pilgrimmage sight for many Hindus). It took us another 5 hours to get to Muktinath. It was the most challenging day of hiking I have ever done-it was also the most rewarding.
The next day Amy's toenail on her left big toe was ready to fall off. While Muktinath is one of those holy cities-it isn't very impressive and despite the fact that Hemmy set off to return to Manang (back up over the pass!) and leave us to our own, we decided to hike on to Kagbeni. Amy squeezed her feet into her shoes and we continued to descend-this time into strong winds-another 1000m to the Tibetan village of Kagbeni.
It took 3 hours to reach Kagbeni a picturesque village on the edge of Upper Mustang (it costs US $700 to enter Upper Mustang and you must take a guide). We found an excellent lodge and settled in for two days in the village. Amy spent her time resting her damaged toe while I wandered around the village observing the pilgrims on their way to Muktinath. The pilgrims all stop in Kagbeni and bath in the river there. They do this annually to remember their parents on the day of their parents death. Considering my thermometer read 12 C and the fact that the river is glacier run-off many of these pilgrims probably catch their own death. It was quite a site.
After all this we had to mak a decision. Amy's toe was not getting better and we could, if we wanted to, hike to Jomosom and catch a flight back to Pokhara. We decided to go to Jomosom and see how Amy's toe was feeling and make the decision there. It is another 3 hour hike on mostly flat ground to Jomosom from Kagbeni and we stopped for lunch. Amy was ready to call it quits. I was crushed...I thought that finding the sunglasses had been a sign. Amy saw my disappointment and called me on it. Then, amazingly (Amy is amazing like that) Amy changed her mind-and her attitude-and decided to suck it up for my sake. Man I love that woman!!!! Besides, we couldn't get a flight out for a few days. We started for Marpha almost immediately.
The rest of the trek was beautiful with views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I (seperated by 38 K and the world's deepest gorge the Kalandaki River Gorge). Through villages and into the aptly named Tatopani (tato means hot, pani means water) where we spent another rest day soaking in the healing hot springs. We opted to do the "Beni bailout" instead of doing the 1600m climb up to Ghorepani and the world famous Poon Hill vista. All of these places (Beni, Poon Hill, Ghorepani) are Maoist strongholds and we were apprehensive despite a cease fire for the Dashain holiday. We didn't run into any Maoists anywhere on the trek. We were fortunate***. 19 days, ~175 miles, up over 5400m, Amy has the scars to prove it!
Back in Pokhara we spent a few days of R&R by the lake hanging out with Jen and Marc-who completed the trek 3 days before us but who both had caught a cold. It was nice to be off the trail but I almost instantly missed the peaceful mountains and meditative hikes. After we had sufficiently recovered from our hike we decided to break up the inevitable 8 hour bus ride to Kathmandu with a stop in the ancient city of Ghorka for the Dashain holiday. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men...On Wednesday 21Oct04 we set off for the bus station, destination Ghorka. The bus for Ghorka was scheduled to leave at 0930 and we figured we needed to be there by 0900. We miscalculated. As it was Dashain-a sort of Nepalese/Hindu Christmas-everyone and their goat (literally. The practice is to sacrifice a goat or buffalo for the holiday) was going home to every remote village and corner of Nepal, especially Ghorka. In short, the bus was 'sold out'. Of course the bus operator was willing to sell us a nonexistent seat on the bus so we piled in. About 30 minutes into the trip there was a loud bang and the bus lurched. We pulled to the side of the road and while the driver inspected the damage everyone had a whee. The driver determined the bus was able to go on to the next village where repairs would have to be performed. A swiss guy and I decided that riding inside the bus was intolerable and climbed onto the roof with the luggage (and a goat). Now, conventional wisdom is that riding on the roof of a bus is dangerous. Nepali wisdom is slightly different. You see, Nepalese buses have this tendancy to plunge off cliffs or take other buses headon. It is almost a daily occurence in Nepal. The Nepali bus wisdom is that, if you ride on the roof you can see these accidents coming and 'bail' when appropriate (is it ever appropriate to bail from a moving bus?). I suppose it is better than being confined inside the bus as you plummet to your certain death but I would just as soon never find out. Fortunately we didn't have to find out. After the repairs were completed Amy and the swiss guy's girlfriend joined us on the roof. Soon, Nepalis joined us also and it was a party. Reminded me of the ranch.
Ghorka is a nice village, strategically located above converging valleys. There is an ancient city with a palace for the old Ghorka kings and at the top of the hill a fortress and a temple. Now the Ghorka Durbur (temple) is somewhat famous and as it was Dashain it is a very popular place for people to come to sacrifice their animal of choice. The day we arrived 1000 goats and 7 buffalos met their destiny in the little hilltop temple. As we arrived late in the day we missed the slaughter. However the next day we climbed up to the temple where they were lining up the goats and buffs for another day of sacrifices. It was interesting. You climb up a stone staircase. On the way you start to notice blood stains on the stones. Eventually the stones turn red and the acrid smell of sun dried blood starts to burn at your nostrils. Within 50 m of the temple there starts to be puddles of coagulated blood and animal feces. Entering the compound your feet stick to the stones and the blood is so thick...well I won't go on. Needless to say it is pretty disgusting. We didn't stick around for any of the sacrifices (slaughter) and I am happy to say that I am still omniverous when it comes to my diet (I don't know if this would be the case if I would have seen 1000 goats killed). Why is it that temples often become slaughter houses? Where people go to lose their minds and find their faith. Anyhow, it was a good day. The next morning we had to try to find a bus back to Kathmandu. No easy task, the regular bus schedule does not apply to Dashain festival and buses are few and far between. We finally managed to catch a ride 24 K to the village on the main road to Kathmandu where we hoped to hop a bus to the capital city. After about an hour we finally got a bus (it left Ghorka an hour after us!) and made an uneventful ride to Kathmandu.
We have been in Kathmandu enjoying the western aspects of the city (I had me a steak, first time in over 6 months!) and making preparations for India. We fly into Varanasi on Tuesday 26Oct04 and hope to make our way to Dharamsala (via Agra and Delhi) in about 10 days time. After meditation and yoga and hopefully a handshake with the Dalai Lama, the plan is to head South to the beaches with a stop off at one of central India's national parks (tigers!?!). Hope all is well back stateside and hope you all are enjoying our website. Remember to vote early and vote often (especially if you are voting for John Kerry). Until next time, stay well.
Notes:
*That's right Jerry, the guy lives in a cave! The monk has decided to live there for the last 37 years! Apparently it is a pretty nice cave and he is a little bit eccentric but he lives in a cave. Can you believe it? Why? It's not like he is poor-many tourists pay him a visit, literally, he charges up to 500 Rupees/visitor! During the high season he clears about 5000 Rp (~$85/day!). Lets face it his cost of living can't be very much. So why a cave? I don't really know 'cause we didn't go up to his cave. I did find out that he spends his winters quite comfortably in Kathmandu at a monastary he has established other than that, I don't know why he lives in a cave.
^That makes MoWenck 3 for 3 for US State Department travel advisories for our last 3 countries! LOL!
**The tragic story of the royal family did make international news reports but coverage in America was limited, afterall, Nepal's natural resources do not include petroleum. The best information I found about the events of that day in 2000 was in a New Yorker article from 2001.
^^Besisahar is the 'sane' trekkers starting point because it allows for a reasonable approach to Thorung La Pass. It allows for several days acclimitization in addition to a moderate climb (950 m) to get over the pass. If you go the other way you have to climb 1600m to reach the pass, up a very steep and unforgiving trail.
*^Can you name the reference to Phish?#
***Apparently, the Maoists harrassed tourists in the village of Jagat the night we stayed there. We didn't hear about it until later.
Is that a Yak fact? Yaks at high altitude are unable to survive a sudden descent-sort of a reverse altitude sickness-and will drop dead if they are forced to descend from altitude to quickly. Tibetan Buddhists unable to kill any sentient beings (butcher is one of the professions the Buddha specifically alluded to as not appropriate for "Right Living" as part of the 8-fold path) apparently will chase Yaks down from altitude until they drop dead when needed. Then they will drag them back up the hill.
In the Annapurna region it is illegal for pack animals (donkeys) to carry more than 70 K (~150 lb). There is no limit for the weight a human can carry! Therefore you will see porters carrying up to 100 K (220 lb) wearing flip flops or barefoot! Porters carrying goods up to villages charge up to 40 rupees/kilo.
#Colonel Forbin's Ascent